Various interior window treatments are utilized both in residential and commercial business applications. One widely accepted window treatment is the shutter. The shutter is popular because of its pleasing aesthetic appearance, versatility, adjustability, functionality and environmental control. Shutters can be manufactured to accommodate window openings in various sizes and shapes. Shutters are conventionally made of wood and are fabricated and assembled in a highly labor intensive operation. After fabrication, most shutters are stained or painted. A functional advantage of shutters is that shutters can be adjusted to regulate the desired light level and also serves to deflect sunlight and reduce glare. Shutters are also environmentally beneficial in that they can reduce the heat load transferred to an interior space through a window opening.
Conventional shutters, while widely accepted, are generally expensive to manufacture due to the number of labor operations which must be performed in the fabrication operation. Most of these operations are manual or, at most, semi-automatic. For example, rails forming the shutter frame must be planed, shaped, drilled and routed in the assembly process. Louvers are similarly formed and assembled as part of the structure. If the louvers are of the adjustable type, the louvers are mounted on dowels which are inserted in cooperating bores spaced along the edges of the stiles. Over a period of time, repeated adjustment of the angular position of the louvers on the dowels can cause the bores in the edges of the louvers or in the stiles to wear creating a condition in which the louvers loosen and will not maintain an adjusted position. Further, conventional wooden louvers constructed in this manner are subject to warpage as a result of use and as a result of heat transferred through the window opening and also due to ambient environmental conditions such as moisture.
While, as indicated above, shutters are widely accepted, there nevertheless exist a need for a shutter of an improved construction which provides improved operational capabilities and also better resistance to warpage as a result of heat and environmental exposure. Another desirable feature in window shutters is the ability to completely block out light when the shutters are in a closed position. In addition, it is highly desirable that shutters be made which provide zero clearance at one surface so that when the shutter blade is open, the blade does not interfere or strike adjacent objects such as window frame, door handle or the like.
Various patents relating to shutters of the general type can be found in the prior art including the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,864 shows a shutter construction having louvers which may be formed of various materials such as plastic, wood or wood materials.
The early patent, U.S. Pat. No. 126,713, to Kelly shows a window blind construction having slats of wood or metal which, when closed, overlap so as to block out light, rain and dust.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,075,257 shows a canopy having tiltable slats which can be closed in an overlapping position to prevent seepage of rain.
Other patents relating to zero clearance feature in shutter construction include the following:
No. Title Patented 1,189,572 Shutter Mechanism, Ilg 1,817,836 Register, Petrelli 2,955,815 Louvered Wall, Muhr 2,962,956 Ventilating Louver Assembly, Magyar 3,046,619 Shutter, Shustrom 4,505,070 Window Blind, Clipp et al 4,887,391 Window Shutter Assembly, Briggs 4,974,362 Decorative Shutter, Briggs